Be Violent against Sin

Jesus’ words, “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out…” are famous (Mark 9:47). Unfortunately, the basic point of these words are often missed. Thankfully, most people today agree that Jesus isn’t speaking literally here. Jesus is clearly teaching his disciples to be violent against sin. But it seems too many people think that Jesus is only talking about how to treat really bad sins.

As if, this were the preferred method when dealing with internet pornography (cut the cable) or embezzlement (quit the job, repay the money). The fact is, being violent against sin is the only way to have success against any sin. Jesus is endorsing the “cut off” method rather than the “cut back” method so often recommended. If such an approach seems too radical, in Mark 9, Jesus gives two reasons for taking sin seriously.

For the sake of others

First, says Jesus, we need to be violent against sin for the sake of others because our sins cause others to sin (Mk. 9:42). In this verse Jesus pictures a scene in which a large stone is tied around a person’s neck before he is cast into the sea . He says that such treatment would be better than causing another believer to fall into sin. People are learning from our sins. Our siblings, our children, our co-workers, our neighbors are watching us. Would you be comfortable if they imitated you in everything you do?

Second, our sin minimizes our effectiveness in the world. If we are engaged in the sins of our culture than we will be saltless (Mk. 9:50). We’ll will have nothing to offer the world (the world already knows how to sin pretty well). When we become content with sin our zeal for the world begins to wane.

But there’s a second reason that comes closer to home.

For our own sake

With powerful repetition, Jesus explains that the person who does not deal with sin is better suited for hell than for heaven (vv. 43-48). Heaven is for those who hate sin and who deal with it accordingly. Hell is for those who love  sin and who deal with it accordingly.

Jesus is not afraid to mention hell, that place where “their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” when teaching about how to deal with sin. After all, says his brother James, the end of sin, if allowed to flourish is the eternal death of hell (Jas. 1:15).

So how can we be violent against sin? The most basic step to dealing with sin is to ask Christ to fill the center of your life. When Christ is at our center then we don’t have to cling to our sin for satisfaction. We can say, “Jesus, you are more important and more beautiful to me than all my stinking sins.” This, alone, will allow us to wage war against our former love, sin.